The New York Liberty saw their three-game winning streak come to an end Thursday with a 104-99 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. Despite a team-high 26 points from Breanna Stewart, the Liberty's defense struggled against the high-powered Aces offense.
Aces star A'ja Wilson led all scorers with 33 points, while Jackie Young contributed 29 and Chelsea Gray added 16. The Aces shot 51.6 percent from the field and made 13 of their 28 three-point attempts. Stewart also grabbed 11 of the Liberty's 34 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Aces' offensive output.
Guard Pauline Astier scored 19 points and added four assists for the Liberty, snapping a recent slump. However, other key players struggled, with Sabrina Ionescu scoring 15 points but largely disappearing in the second half, and Jonquel Jones making only two of her eleven field goal attempts.
"We had a chance to win," Liberty coach Chris DeMarco said. "We gave ourselves a chance and I’m really happy with the way the group fought back and we’re pretty resilient again." He acknowledged that defending the three-point line and protecting the paint against teams like the Aces are areas that need improvement.
A controversial call late in the game contributed to the close finish. With 17.9 seconds remaining and the Liberty trailing by three, A'ja Wilson lost control of the ball out of bounds. Officials awarded possession to the Aces, a decision the Liberty could not challenge after having used their earlier challenge.
Stewart commented on the sequence, noting, "So did A'ja. She was walking back to halfcourt."
Six of the Liberty’s last seven games have been decided by five or fewer points, indicating a pattern of close contests for the team. Stewart expressed optimism about the team's ability to compete in these tight games, noting that they were in the game for the full 40 minutes without having to overcome a significant deficit. "We were playing basketball against a good team and they made more plays than us and sometimes that’s the way it goes and now we move on," Stewart said. The Liberty look ahead to their next game on Saturday.